Valentine
by Dimitri's.Smexi.Shewolf
Summary: A series of Valentines Oneshots featuring Rose and Dimitri.Oneshots set during and after the series, maybe some AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello again guys. So, I thought I might as well write some Valentines stories- not like I've got a better way to spend the evening :3  
This will be a series of around 6 oneshots, all put on today, which I may possibly add to in the future. The oneshots are based on prompts I received from a friend who knows absolutely nothing about VA, on the theme of 'Valentines'. Most will be set after the series, some during, and maybe one AU.  
So, on with the show :) **

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_**6 stories, 6 Valentine's days. One for every year I've been thinking of you x.**_

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**#1- Prompt- Rose  
Set- After the series.  
Quote- 'I'll love you until the last rose withers.'**

I opened my eyes to see the golden light of sunset filtering through the window, intensified by the brightness of the snow outside, though that was not what had woken me.

No, that was the feather-light kisses being pressed to my neck, along my shoulder and down my spine.  
I shuddered in pleasure, and the pressure changed slightly.  
"Happy Valentine's day, love." Dimitri whispered against my skin.

A dopey smile spread over my face, and I turned in his arms to face him.  
"Mmm, it is." I hummed.  
Putting a finger under my chin, Dimitri tilted my head up to bring his lips to mine.

Wrapped in this blanket of pure bliss, I felt like nothing could break my golden bubble of happiness.  
Until Dimitri's alarm went off.

Then, I remembered he was supposed to work today. Only until lunch, but still. No morning... activities.  
I groaned, flopping back onto the pillow as he moved to switch the alarm off.

He turned back to me, but I pointedly ignored him.  
"Roza, I'm sorry..."

"I'm going back to sleep. Wake me up before you leave."  
With that, I turned over, and blacked out.

The next time I woke, about half an hour later, it was because I heard footsteps approaching.  
I opened my eyes and sat up as Dimitri walked over with a tray in his hands.  
Sitting on the edge of the bed, he placed the tray on my lap.  
I smiled as I saw what was on it.

Along with all the normal food was heart-shaped eggs, 'I love you' toast, pink grapefruit juice and strawberries. And a flower in a small vase.  
I looked up at Dimitri, who was already dressed in his Guardian uniform.  
"Aaw, you big romantic softie." I teased.

He smiled back. "For you, yes. And there's more where that came from."  
He kissed me once on the lips and once on the forehead before I could ask what he meant, grabbing his duster and heading for the door.  
"I'll be back as soon as I can. I love you."

I mumbled a reply around a mouthful of toast, before devouring the rest of the food.

When I had finished, relaxed in bed for a little longer, enjoying the warmth of my bed, before getting up to go shower.  
As I did so, I noticed a trail of petals leading to the bathroom. I followed them, and as I opened the door, I was met by a soft cloud of steam.  
Closing the door behind me, I looked around the huge bathroom, which was lit by a dozen candles.  
Walking to the edge of the massive bath, I could see little spa-lights floating in the steaming water, surrounded by more of the rose petals.  
Man, Dimitri did good.

After a deliciously long soak, I reluctantly stepped out of the now lukewarm water, wrapping up in a fluffy towel.  
As I opened my wardrobe door to find some sweats and a hoodie to wear, I was surprised to see a long red satin dress hanging there that I had no recollection of.  
Pulling it out, I saw a label attached to the hanger.  
_For later x _it said, and I hung it back where I found it, pulling on what I had originally been looking for.  
So, was Dimitri taking me out on a date later? I hoped so.

Anticipating this, I sat on the sofa and painted my nails, flicking through some magazines that were stacked by the sofa that I hadn't put there.

I spent the next hour this way, and was pleasantly surprised when I saw that Dimitri only had another hour and a half until he was free of work.

I caught up on some TV I had missed, and was just walking to the kitchen when I saw something on the windowsill that definitely wasn't there earlier.

Next to the window that I hadn't realised was open a crack, stood a vase of 12 roses.  
Sticking my nose into the blooms, I inhaled their gorgeous scent. That was when I noticed the card lodged inside.  
I opened it to find Dimitri's perfect writing.

_I'll love you until the last rose withers._

I smiled as I noticed that a flower right in the middle of the bunch was synthetic, and sighed in contentment.

"Comrade." I whispered, and magically, a few seconds later I felt a pair of muscular arms slide around my waist.

"They're beautiful." I told him, leaning back into Dimitri's chest.

"They're alright" He replied. "But they're nothing compared to _my_ Rose."

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**OK, next chapter will be up really soon. Like, as fast as I can type it :) Happy Valentine's day everyone!**


	2. Valentine Chap2

**Chapter 2  
****Thanks to Gaspazha Belikova for the fast review. Hope you had a good day :)**

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**#2- Card**

Lissa dashed into her room, 5 minutes later than the agreed meeting time, running to the kitchen to drop off a bag of groceries.  
"How can you be late to a meeting you arranged and is in your own room!" I asked her incredulously.

"That's rich, coming from you, Rose." Mia scoffed.

"But this is Liss we're talking about here." I replied, and Lissa came back in just as I finished speaking.

"Sorry I'm a little late, but I kept being stopped by my loyal subjects trying to wish me a happy Valentine's day early." She explained, dumping another bag on the table.

"So, why exactly are we here?" Sydney asked.

Lissa rummaged through the carrier bag on the table.  
"Well, obviously it is Valentine's day tomorrow, and Rose and I both realised that we haven't actually bought cards yet."

I rolled my eyes. "Because I don't need to give Dimitri some tacky pre-written crap to let him know I love him."  
Lissa ignored me. "Mia, Sydney, you got your guys cards yet?"

They both shook their heads.

"Well, don't worry. Because I got these."  
Lifting the bag, its contents spilled over the table. Scissors, glue, card, sequins and other assorted craft supplies tumbled out.

Lissa grinned. "See Rose, not impersonal or pre-written. We can make the guys cards!"

The moment in time that she expected to hear filled with our uncontrolled cries of excitement was silent.  
Lissa sighed. "Can't you at least _pretend_ to think it's a good idea?"

After that, we all gushed over the exciting prospect of card making for a minute, until we each actually had a piece of card, scissors and pile of glittery things in front of us.

Being me, I went straight for the huge squeezy bottle of glue, and predictably spilled it all over my card. When everyone looked at me like a naughty 5 year old, I picked up the red glitter and tipped the whole thing over it.  
"See? I meant to do that. Have a little faith in me."

Half an hour later, it was easy to see why they had been so sceptical about my shaky start. Sydney had a metallic gold card with red and sequins scattered across it, Mia had completed a baby pink and blue one and Lissa was proudly looking at a dark pink card with little red and white chequered hearts on it.  
Mine looked like Rudolph had barfed all the leftover tinsel from last year onto it.

Red glitter made a lumpy background, and over that a dark pink, lopsided heart was sliding off the paper. Little heart-shaped sequins were stuck haphazardly in the corners, though you could hardly make out their shape through the glue that surrounded them.

I banged my head on the table in defeat.  
"This is hopeless. I'm embarrassingly bad at this stuff."  
The girls looked on sympathetically.  
"Don't worry Rose. You're obviously better suited to staking hearts than making them." Lissa reassured me.

It was a light bulb moment.  
"Liss, you're brilliant."

Throwing aside my epic fail 1st attempt, I folded a fresh sheet of red card, and found a large black pre-cut heart.  
Gluing it carefully to the middle of the page, I took a piece of metallic silver card and cut it into a slim wedge-shape, and cut it in half. Putting one end into the top of the heart and the other protruding from the bottom, I picked up a black marker.

I wrote around the heart in the centre of the card.  
_Cupid's got his arrows, but Guardians have stakes...  
And when it comes to love, it's all about the CHARM!_

On the inside, I wrote all the usual stuff like names, but in the middle, I wrote:  
_Stay safe this Valentine's day. Sleep with a Guardian!"_

Sitting back, I flipped the card onto the table for the others to see.  
After passing it round, I took their laughter to be approval.

Let's just say, Dimitri liked the card. And that he took my advice, and was very safety conscious that night...

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**Ooh, it got a bit naughty at the end there ;)  
Actually, I'd quite like to have that extra bit of protection at night... I may take Rose's advice ;P  
I still have more of these to go, but probably won't get them all up still on the 14****th****. Meh.  
**


	3. Valentine Chap3

**Chapter 3**

**Just realised I haven't actually done any disclaimers yet :o  
I DO NOT OWN VAMPIRE ACADEMY!**

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**Thanks to  10 and Gaspazha Belikova for reviewing. Your mother's day card story made me laugh, which was nice today :)**

**This one is set between Frostbite and Shadow Kiss, as FB ends late December and SK begins mid February, Valentine's day actually would fall then.**

**This chapter is dedicated to anyone that can relate to it, or just needs a little smile to brighten up their day.**

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**#3 Longing**

_Ever wanting, ever longing, ever feeling blue... so I'll take the inspiration with the gloom because where there's a tear, there's a tune._

As I walk into Stan's class, there is no cocky smile on my face. There is no heart-shaped pin on my shirt, or a flirty comment on my lips. There is only a sadness in my eyes as my gaze locks on the empty seat where the would-be recipient of the things previously mentioned should be sitting.  
Though Mason had been gone almost a month now, I still half expected to walk into class and see him grinning, laughing at me and showing off about how he'd pulled the ultimate prank this time.

But I knew the truth, and I knew that no amount of wishing or longing would bring him back.

And because life seemed to be having a laugh at my expense today, as I looked up I met Dimitri's eyes.  
Great, yet another trouble I couldn't escape. Practice had been cancelled today since the teachers needed to keep track of all the students- for some reason, the 14th February was a day that many students fell ill and were unable to leave their rooms, or indeed their beds, unless it was to share it with someone else with the same mystery illness.  
It was only fitting that by separating those who were actually allowed to be together (well, almost), the teachers were unwittingly separating Dimitri and I too.

I felt his eyes on me all the rest of that class, though I couldn't look at him as he was behind me.

I drifted through the rest of my classes that day without event, talking for pretty much the first time when I sat with Lissa for our Animal Behaviour class. Dimitri stood protectively to the side.

Lissa sighed in contentment. "Don't you just love Valentine's day?" She asked dreamily.  
A quick investigation through the bond told me that her and Christian were planning on celebrating the holiday up in their little love next later, which was why she was so happy.

I grimaced. "You know, Valentines is one of those days that just intensifies whatever somebody is already feeling. You're happy in a relationship- you feel that much more lucky and in love. You're not with anyone and don't want to be- you're even happier that you're single and don't have to go around like a lovesick puppy. You want someone you can't have, and everything is a reminder of the fact that you don't have them."  
I looked up and caught Dimitri's eye, offering a small smile.  
Lissa, of course didn't notice. Thinking that I fell into that second category, she replied;  
"Well, we'll see about that. One of these days, you'll find someone and grow to love it just as much as I do."  
I made a non-committal noise of agreement, and thankfully the bell went before I could say anything else.

I walked extra quickly to after-school practice after that, but was disappointed to find that Dimitri wasn't alone in the gym. There was another group of students working on the mats, so I stayed on the punch bags and other training apparatus, meaning there was an infuriating distance between Dimitri and I. Focussing on my technique more than ever, I tried to let out my pent-up frustration on the bag. It didn't help much, so I tried to ignore Dimitri's presence as much as possible. It was a lost cause, obviously.

Finally, the session ended, but as I left the gym, Dimitri followed me out.  
As we rounded the corner of the building, he pulled me into the shadows.

We stood in comfortable silence for a minute, before he spoke.  
"I'm sorry, Rose. I hate that we have to hide this, that you have to lie to Lissa. You've been through so much lately, I just wish there was something I could do to help you." His voice sounded strained, and I could tell that it really did hurt him, too.

"You are helping. You're being you, and that's all I need right now." Well, not all that I needed, but he didn't need to know that.  
But as always, he did.  
Raising his hand slowly, Dimitri's fingers traced my cheek. I leaned into his touch, and stretched up on my toes.  
Dimitri's lips met mine in the lightest of caresses, the pressure increasing just slightly before he began to pull away. I understood, though. Once we started, it was hard to stop.

Instead of moving away, however, Dimitri pulled me into a tight embrace.  
I wrapped my arms around him, and revelled in the feeling that being pressed against him like this gave me. I wanted for nothing else in the world, the longing ceased, and I was content.

All too soon we had to break apart, but Dimitri kept hold of my hands and leaned down to kiss my forehead.  
"Happy Valentine's day, Roza. I love you."  
I smiled for the first time that day.  
"I love you too, Dimitri. Happy Valentine's.

His gorgeous face lit up with a rare, full smile, and I decided that undeniably, that smile was the greatest gift he could have given me in the world.

And though I still longed for him, it was a little easier to put on a brave face of my own, with the feeling of his lips on mine and that smile burned into my memory.

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**That's about it for tonight, guys. Thanks for reading, and leave me a little Valentines love in your reviews if you like it :).  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, it's been a month since Valentine's day, so I'm adding the second half of this story. Hope you enjoy it everyone x**

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**AH/AU  
Rose and Dimitri were friends for years, but Rose fell in love with him. Dimitri never felt the same, but one day, she confronted him about it. They fell out and hardly spoke for years.  
One day, he tries to patch things up, but it all goes downhill in a mess of mixed signals and pieces of her broken heart.  
He calls, but she doesn't pick up. Written as a letter she'll never send, with her thoughts in between.**

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**#4-Searching.**

_**Dimitri,  
I knew you'd call tonight. Every evening I've sat staring at the phone in my lap, hoping against hope that you'd call, but in my heart, I knew you wouldn't.  
You never did.  
**_And that waiting so many years for him to even notice how I felt, I could wait a little longer until he saw the light and made a move._**  
But tonight, you did. And I knew you would. And as much as I didn't, I wanted you to.  
As our eyes met across the room, I was sure that if you hadn't already deleted my number, you would try to make things right.  
Why? Why now?  
I know, actually. And it isn't for my benefit, I'm sure.**__  
_Somebody had made an offhand sexual comment about me, nothing unusual there. Well, I am Rose Hathaway. But since meeting Dimitri, I had...changed. As in, I wasn't the school slut anymore, and some guys felt like they had missed out.  
One of those guys had then twisted it around when I threw a rejection in their face, and made a comment about Dimitri and I. He'd heard it, and I dared a glance at him just long enough to catch a glimpse of what I thought was disgust in his eyes. _  
__**After the last thing you said to me, you made it pretty clear that this... nothing was over. And after weeks of crying alone at night, I finally came to terms with that again. I rebuilt my mental walls, and managed to shut you out again, at least for a little while.  
But now you've broken those walls again, and though you can't reach me, everything is focussed on you.  
**_And it was so, so true. Everything I'd been holding back fought its way to the surface, making it hard to breathe.

_**I knew you'd call, and for once, I was trying to think of me. I only picked up my phone to switch it off, but it was at that moment you called.  
And now, I can't turn the thing off. Because as much as I hate you for screwing with my mind again, I want you to call again. To get more than a simple 'hey'. Every few minutes I check the screen, hoping to see your name there again.  
**_And when I did see his name flash across the screen, my heart jumped in my chest and raced on, ahead to the possibilities there could be. My body trembled, hands shaking, barely able to keep their grip. My writing was barely legible now.  
_**Any other night. Any other night and I would have replied in a second.  
But not tonight. Because for once, I'm thinking with my head, not my heart.  
**_I just that it would be telling me the right thing._**  
I hope you know that it takes everything I have in me not to call you back. But for once, I am putting myself, and my future, before you.  
**_I choked back another sob as I realised that this time, maybe I had lost him for good. Not that I ever really had him, but maybe there had been a chance. And I had gone and wasted that chance._**  
And though it kills me to do that, I'll become stronger for it one day.  
**_I had to believe that what I was doing was for the best, that it would be alright in the end, and that by some miracle, this would all turn around in my favour._**  
But if you call again...  
Rose x**_

_**Ps. Happy Valentine's Day, Comrade.**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, me again. Hope you like.**

**Genesis Chi- Aaw, I'm glad I could cheer you up a bit. Sorry about the bad news :( *Dimitri hug* I have a new story ready, so maybe I'll post it tomorrow :)**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN VAMPIRE ACADEMY**

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**#5- Found**

I lay in Dimitri's arms, exhausted, but surrounded by a feeling of total bliss.  
"You're amazing." Dimitri breathed. "I'm so glad I found you."

Smiling, I propped myself up on my elbow, looking into his eyes.  
"I'll bet you are. If you been lucky that night, you'd probably still be chasing us around America right now."

He narrowed his eyes.  
"That wasn't luck. It was extensive planning and skill, carried out perfectly."

I laughed. "Yeah, you keep telling yourself that, Comrade. But if I hadn't been so short on plasma that night, I so could have taken you."

"That's not the impression I got." He said, raising an eyebrow.

"That's my point. Had I not been dragged out of bed by a nightmare and chased out in the middle of the night whilst wearing my pyjamas, you'd have got quite a different impression of me. You'd have been as distracted by my looks as I was by yours, and it would have been an even playing field then."

Dimitri smiled, brushing some hair back off my cheek.  
"I still thought you were the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. For a moment I thought I was dreaming."

A warm, golden glow filled me.  
"I still remember the first time you called me beautiful. Nobody had ever said that to me before."

"Then they must all have been blind. Though I can't say that I'm not glad."

We were silent for a minute, before I spoke again, surprising even myself with my words.  
"As much as Dashkov messed us around and screwed up lives, I'm glad he decided to set up the whole lust charm thing."

Dimitri looked shocked for a moment, before his face softened into a smile.  
"I know the feeling. It wouldn't have been long until my control broke in the end, but I'm grateful that I didn't have to waste a minute longer denying my feelings for you."

I was about to reply to that when he rolled over, reaching for something beneath the bed. What the..?  
He turned back to me, holding a small box out to me.  
"I wasn't sure if you would want this or not..."

I took the box, opening it to reveal a gold and diamond rose necklace.  
"Woah, is this really..?" I asked, looking to Dimitri for confirmation.

He nodded, smiling shyly.  
"When I went back to the Academy for a meeting a couple of weeks ago, I looked in the hedges beneath my window. I wasn't sure if it would still be there, and a Guardian who saw me thought I'd gone crazy, but it was right where I thought it would be."

I laughed at the thought of Dimitri on his hands and knees under a hedge, searching for treasure.

On impulse, I reached out and touched the necklace.  
It was nothing like it had been on the night of the lust charm, obviously time and the death of the maker had weakened the magic, but there was still a tingle that ran through me as my fingertips made contact with the warm metal.

With effort, I put it on the bedside table.  
"Thanks, Comrade. But I'd better not put it on now- we have work in a couple of hours, and I distinctly remember that the necklace has the effect of making us forget responsibilities..."

Dimitri's eyes were smouldering, almost enough to make me want to forget our responsibility, and the rest of the world.

Instead, he leaned down, settling for a kiss.

"I can wait. Because now I've found you, I'm never letting you go." He promised.

"Good." I whispered back, before closing the distance between our lips. "Because you're stuck with me. Forever."


	6. Valentine Chapter 6

**So much has changed since I began this story on Valentine's day 2013. This chapter isn't the same as how I expected it would be when I began this story, but that's life. We never know what's around the corner.**

**This will probably be the last chapter for now, though I may update it again next Valentine's day. Who knows?  
**

**I hope you like this chapter and that it even helps some of you. Please review and tell me what you think of it.**

**_A- This is for you x_**

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**Prompt #6- Love**

Love. The word itself has many meanings, and can be used in different contexts. It can be a noun, a name, a score of zero. It is a 'strong feeling of affection'.

But can anyone truly know what it is, and everything that it can be?

I cannot profess to be an expert on the meaning of the word Love, but what I do know is that it is special, unpredictable, and just about the craziest thing that a person can feel.

Because if you're in love, nothing else really matters. When that one person makes you feel special, and you can hardly breathe without them- or when they're in front of you-, never let anything try and change your mind. Because love burns, scars, changes, sculpts, ends, fixes, fades. It is unpredictable, and contradictory.

Love shapes us a people. Those who we have loved and those who have loved us have made us who we are today. For better or for worse, that is the truth.

We can love someone so much that we hate ourselves, and blame love for the pain we feel.

Things change, people change- for better or for worse. Nothing is permanent in this life, security is just an illusion, but sometimes things do last. Sometimes you hold on because you don't want to lose the feeling of being in love, however much the pain that accompanies it hurts you. Sometimes, there comes a point when you have to just let go, and tell yourself it's time to move on. It isn't easy, it never is.

When you let go, sometimes you miss the love, not the person. Sometimes you miss the person, but not how they made you feel. There are some people we love to hate, and some that we hate that we love. Sometimes we have to let them go to love ourselves.

Sometimes we hope and love and sacrifice, but it isn't enough. We let one person have so much power over us, but they break out hearts. It's too ittle, too late. It ends, and we break until there's nothing left. We drift apart like autumn leaves, pieces of us dying and flying away to where we'll never find them again.  
We no longer recognise ourselves, there's a stranger looking back at us in the mirror.

Then, slowly, we pick up the shattered pieces and put ourselves back together, bit by bit, day by day, tear by tear. We're different, but that's okay.  
As time goes by, we get a little bit stronger, Though we swear we won't let it, love catches up with us again. And every time it is different.

Love is tangled mess of confused contradictions, tenuous promises and unbreakable hopes. It's wild and crazy and dangerous. It's beautiful.

This is what I've learned about love. But I'll probably never truly understand it, or the power it has. Nobody will. It's impossible.

And _that's_ why we fall in love.


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